


To the Moon and Back

by Khellamendra



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: M/M, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-25
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-11-05 08:08:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,035
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17915066
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Khellamendra/pseuds/Khellamendra
Summary: Kolivan learns about an Earth holiday meant for couples. After being apart from his mate for so long, he finds this is the perfect chance to show how much he is cherished. Now if he could just figure out why humans gave each other hearts of all things.





	To the Moon and Back

**Author's Note:**

> This takes place sometime after Season 7. It was part of the Writer's Guild challenge on the Voltron Amino. Also, I just want to say that Kolieth is hands down my Keith OTP. <3

“So how's the game plan coming along? Got everything you need?” Blue eyes stayed glued in the red paper. A tongue poked out as the scissors cut through it. With one final snip, the excess fell away and he held up the paper heart in triumph. Kolivan didn’t look up from the report but a head tilted at the question.

The red paladin had been destroying colored paper every since he came into the break room. His companion had been here even before Kolivan. The smell of something sweet had been filling the small room recently. Utensils against bowls made for an acceptable level of background noise.

“It's great! I've already got all the ingredient for dinner tomorrow. Thanks to you of course. Can't forget the candy and I am totally doing breakfast in bed. Put together the playlist too. Really set the mood if you know what I mean. I was originally thinking candles but after the last time, I think I'll find an alternative.” Lance said, putting the heart on the table with the other red, pink, and white ones scattered before him.

Hunk nodded along, pulling on oven mitts right as the timer went off. “Pretty sure that smell will never go away. What about string lights? You won't be able to set them on fire. Then again, you should keep an extinguisher nearby. Just in case.” Kolivan quirked a brow at that, waiting for one of them to go into more detail.

“Don't worry we have one ready at all times. Oh plus Mrs. Holt hooked me up with some beautiful roses.” Brows furrowed as the conversation moved forward and he resigned himself back to the report. Idly he typed notes for the next meeting and made a note to ask Keith if he knew about this incident.

“Just need to get all the hearts to decorate our room and it'll be perfect!” Pausing, the Galran leader looked up.

“You decorate your quarters with...hearts?” Two pairs of eyes focused on him as he frowned. “Is this a common practice among humans?” Picking up his pencil, Lance started tracing out another one.

“Kind of? I mean you give hearts to the one you love as a symbol of that love. You can do it whenever but it’s Valentine’s Day tomorrow.” The scratch of the pencil stop and he looked up again. “Which is an Earth holiday for couples.” He added. “Everyone gets super romantic and does all these things for the person they like. It’s basically just a big excuse to spoil your significant other. You know, more than usual.”

Claws tapped unevenly on the arm of the chair. “Keith has never mentioned this holiday before.”

Lance snorted. “What a shock. Keith’s not exactly an affectionate guy.”

“At least not openly.” Hunk corrected. Shrugging, Lance went back to work. “He’s come a long way but Keith’s still a private person.”

The Galran exhaled deeply and sat back in the chair. He knew very well how Keith could be. After all this time he still kept a lot to himself, struggling to accept compliments and affection. Kolivan always said what he meant without hesitation or concern. Paladin or not, Keith was still a Blade and he kept everything close to his chest. It made those rare soft moments something Kolivan cherished. After three long deca-phoebs and their final battle getting closer, the decision was simple.

“Tell me of these traditions.”

♡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━♡

His first stop brought him outside a familiar office. Lance and Hunk had been full of helpful and confusing ideas. The important ones listed on his tablet, full of notes and questions that needed answers. For this task, he needed someone that knew Keith the best.

Stepping into the office, he put his arms behind his back. His presence startled Shiro and he held up a hand as the man started to rise. “I’ve come to discuss a more, personal matter.”

“Is everything alright with Keith?” A mouth twitched.

“Yes, everything is fine. Yet, this does involve him. I’ve been informed of a certain holiday that is taking place tomorrow. Are you familiar with it?”

A smile formed on Shiro’s face. “I am. So I’m guessing you want advice. Where should I even start?” Pulling out his tablet, claws moved over the screen.

“I was doing some research on my way over. Most of this I can handle either on my own or with someone else. The one thing that does still allude me is human diets. More so on the topic of food that is sweet. The yellow paladin was of immense help with the meal aspect. The red paladin suggested something called candy. The results are more numerous than expected.”

Lacing fingers together, Shiro thought about it. “The important thing is to avoid chocolate for sure. We learned the hard way that he’s allergic to it. Beyond that keep it simple. He doesn’t eat a lot of sweets but it’s okay to indulge now and then. Here.” Opening a drawer, he pulled out a bag and tossed it on the desk. Picking it up, Kolivan could see tiny colored candies inside. Pulling it closer to his face, it took a moment to realize each one had a word or phrase on it. “They’re Sweethearts. Each one has an endearing message on it. They only come out during this time of the year too. They’re not the best tasting candy but they are fun and cute.”

“Thank you, Shiro. I believe these will be sufficient for my purpose. Now I must find the green paladin as soon as possible. One of my tasks will be taking me away from this base.” Putting the bag away, he put a line through another task.

“Thank you.” Pausing at the door, Kolivan stared at the grooves etched into the metal door.

“There is no reason to thank me.”

Leaving, he headed down the hall and out the doors into the fresh air. The sun had come back out but the air still had a slight chill to it. The few that are outside wear more layers than he felt were necessary. Keith found every reason possible to not have to step foot outside. When he did it was a never-ending stream of complaints. He would grumble when Kolivan put a large arm around him but it was better than being cold.

This time his footsteps were the only ones trekking through the white powder that had yet to melt. He made sure to shake them off before stepping into the warmth of the building. Moving into the hallway, Kolivan waited for the system to confirm he was properly decontaminated.. He could see Pidge, busy scanning a group of flowers. It wasn’t until the white bot at her side beeped that she looked up, stepping back quickly.. “Woah! Kolivan you- I’m surprised to see you here,” she said, smoothing the jacket out.

“I apologize, this won’t take long. I need flowers, for Keith.” He clarified.

She blinked. “For Keith?”

“Yes for Valentine’s Day.” He pronounced the name slowly, unfamiliar with the word.

“That is happening tomorrow, isn’t it? I completely forgot. Not that I have anyone to celebrate with. Which is totally fine. I like my tradition of sitting around and eating candy while watching horror movies. I’ll be more than happy to help you though. Guess you’ll want roses then?”

Shaking his head, he showed her his tablet. “No, I am looking for these.” Beezer and Pidge both leaned in to look at the picture.

“Violets huh? I can find you some but it might take a little bit to track them down. You really did do your research huh?”

Kolivan nodded. “Yes and that is fine. I have to leave soon but I should be back by tomorrow morning. I can get them then.” Pidge was already typing.

“Sounds good. Just shoot me a message and I’ll bring them to you. Keith’ll love them. I wish I could see his face when you give them to him.”

“If you would like, I can tell you about it later.”

Adjusting glasses, Pidge grinned. Keith would blab everything to Shiro for sure but Shiro would never share the details. At least this way she would have something to tell the others. “Sounds good. Leave it to me!”

♡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━♡

With another task off the list, he made the trek back to his quarters. Keith was currently curled up to Kosmo, a blanket wrapped around him as eyes swept over the screen. Their bed had far more blankets that the leader of the Blades felt was necessary. Even so, Keith found a way to use every single one. Kolivan could see a steaming mug snug between bare feet. “The room is not that cold.” A soft hmph was the only response, his smaller companion more interested in the book he was reading.

Grabbing a small bag, he wouldn’t need to bring much with him. Not for the short amount of time he would be gone. Regardless, he mentally went over everything he needed. This was the most trying task. Since it was the ultimate symbol of love, he could see why. Muttering to himself, he could feel eyes staring at him. “Are you going somewhere?”

Putting the last of it in the bag, he picked it up. “Yes.” The silence stretched again but Kolivan knew better. “Is that a problem?”

“No.” The answer was instant before another pause. “I just...have more free time off tomorrow.”

“I should be back by tomorrow morning. We can spend the remainder of it together if you would like.” He could hear Keith fidgeting on the bed.

“If you want.”

Kolivan walked towards the bed as purple watched him warily. Reaching out, he carefully threaded claws through raven hair. Slipping down to smooth skin, a thumb ran over the scar. Tilting a head up, purple met yellow. “I do.” The soft red of cheeks never ceased to be endearing along with the way eyes would avoid his when Keith got like this.

“Then-” hesitating, eyes met again for a split second before Keith lost his nerve. “Be careful.” Nodding, Kolivan let go only to press a kiss to Keith’s forehead.

“I will always come back to you.”

♡━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━♡

Staring at the clock for the millionth time, Keith resumed his pacing. He had intentionally cleared today to spend it with Kolivan. The larger Galra didn’t know about what today meant and that was okay. It wasn’t going to stop him from using today as an excuse to try and express his feelings. It was something he was terrible at, they all knew that. The best he could do was a gift he had carved himself and to try and actually put into words how he felt. Hopefully, it didn’t go bad. Keith had never heard Kolivan laugh so at least he didn’t have to worry about that reaction.

Kolivan had said he would be back by tomorrow morning. When noon came and went Keith, started to get worried. Kolivan could have been captured again. What if he was injured? How would Keith even know? Biting a bottom lip, he cursed under his breath as his pace increased.

Should he go out there? Take the black lion and see if he could find any clues? Why hadn’t he thought to ask Kolivan where he was going? Someone had to know but who he wasn’t certain. Too much had changed in the time he was gone.

The sound of the door went unnoticed as he made another rotation, bumping into something very solid. Stepping back, a hand reached for his blade but a much larger one caught his arm. Looking upward, Keith let out a breath he didn’t realize he had been holding. “You are such a jerk! You said tomorrow morning!” He shouldn’t have been yelling but after all the obsessive worrying, he had too many emotions pent up. The hand let go and wrapped around shoulders this time, bringing him against a hard body. Soft rumbling purrs vibrated against his small frame as the hand soothed over his back. “I thought maybe-”

“It’s alright. No matter how far we are apart-”

“-, we’ll always find a way back to each other.” Keith finished, stepping back. “So? What was so important that you had to make me worry so much?”

A rare smile crossed Kolivan’s lips as he led Keith to the bed. “There were a few things I needed, in order to celebrate a certain holiday with you.”

“How did you-?”

“Your friends were talking about it yesterday. I don’t need to ask why you didn’t tell me, I know how you are. Even when you want something, you’ll rarely express it. Much like wanting to spend the day with me.” He pointed out as Keith stared at his lap. “Regardless, you and I are bonded. I could do better in showing that.”

Keith shook his head. “I’m not exactly any better but you know you don’t have to do anything. I know how you feel and that’s enough.”

“Perhaps but confirmations are enjoyable aren’t they?” A small nod was enough and he smiled again. “Good because I have several for you.” Opening the pack he pulled out the candy.

“Sweethearts?”

Kolivan nodded. “Yes, they have messages. Most of them do, I noticed that some seemed blank for some reason. Shiro suggested them since you cannot have chocolate. I was able to find some of this chocolate and scanned it. The main ingredient is very dangerous to Galrans. Since you do have Galran blood, it makes sense that it affected you as well. Although to a lesser degree. Regardless, I have made sure the others are aware so they don’t accidentally consume it.”

“I can’t believe I’m allergic because I’m part Galra. That’s so weird and a little unfair.” Shaking the bag, he smiled. “Thanks, these are cute.”

“That is not all.” Taking Keith’s hand, Kolivan pulled the other man to his feet. “The rest of it is elsewhere. It is part of what took so long in me returning to you. Leading Keith from the room, they stopped across the hallway. As far as he knew the room had been empty for quite a while. When Kolivan opened the door, he could see that it wasn’t any longer. The room itself was lit with various lights that sparkled as if the room was filled with violet stars. Various purple flowers sat along the walls and the prettiest display was in the center of a table.

Keith had been so distracted by the aesthetic that he almost missed the smell of food. An impressive meal sat steaming on the table. His stomach growled at the sight, mouthwatering. “I can’t believe you did all this, for me. All I have for you is a stupid figurine I made.” He said, guilt starting to eat at him.

“You made me something?” Digging into his pocket, Keith brought out the palm-sized carving in the shape of a shield. An ornate lion carved into the center with a blade underneath.

“It’s nothing amazing, just something I made that made me think of us.”

A large hand took the carving, bringing it up so Kolivan could look at it better. “This is beautiful. The craftsmanship and detail are impressive. You should be proud of it. I will carry this with me at all times. If we must be apart, I will use it to remind me of what I must get back to.” Keith was grateful for the somewhat low light, hoping it hid the blush that was overtaking his face.

“I’m glad you like it.” Lead to the table, they sat down.

“I genuinely do Keith. Thank you. Now, I have one last thing for you.” Pulling out a large cylindrical container, it held the most beautiful crystal Keith had ever seen. It was an oval shape the size of his own fist. Deep purple glowed softly and gave off little stars that disappeared only to be remade. It took his breath away to look at.

“What is it?” He asked, tone hushed. Keith couldn’t take his eyes off of it.

“I was told that humans gave each other hearts to celebrate their love. So that is what I have given you. This is the heart of a Golle. They are large creatures made of rock and precious gems. Every deca-phoeb around this time, they become a problem for the people of Lumina. I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to obtain a heart for you. Especially since human hearts are rather...ugly.” Kolivan looked at the wide-eyed look on Keith’s face. “Did I say something wrong?”

“You fought a creature and brought me it’s heart?”

Kolivan frowned. “Yes. I’m not sure how the others do it but this was the most effective method that I am aware of.” Keith opened his mouth before closing it again. He knew he should tell Kolivan what it actually meant to give someone a heart.

Looking at the container, he decided against it. Knowing his other half- no his mate had fought some creature and brought him the heart was strangely romantic.

“No, not at all. I’m just impressed and a bit in awe to be honest. It’s beautiful. Thank you.” Keith said. “Please tell me this is everything, I don’t know if I can take you being anymore thoughtful.”

“There is one more thing.” Taking out his tablet, it only took a moment for Keith to get a message. “While I was traveling, I wrote this for you.” Looking at the odd symbols, they were familiar.

“Is this in Galran? It’s a sweet gesture but I can’t read this.” It was then that Keith heard a sound he never had before. A low rumble that turned into a more noticeable chuckle. The unmistakable sound of Kolivan laughing. It was a beautiful sound and Keith’s heart beat a little faster.

“I could use it as an incentive to learn but I will not be that cruel. Would you like me to read it to you over our meal?” Keith laughed at himself along with the joke.

“I would love nothing more.”


End file.
